


Guardian of nature

by mckvch (RaiseYourVoice)



Series: Saphael Winter Tales [10]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV), The Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare
Genre: Alternate Universe - Mythology, Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Campfires, Chaneque Raphael, Forests, Gen, Human Simon, Jace is a Dick, Mexican Mythology & Folklore, Party, Sprite Raphael, Supernatural Elements, Winter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-10
Updated: 2016-12-27
Packaged: 2018-09-03 09:14:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,351
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8706571
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RaiseYourVoice/pseuds/mckvch
Summary: "Lewis, you look like you could use another beer," Jace said and pushed his half-drunken bottle against Simon's chest, urging him to take it and drink but he refused with a shake of his head. He had absolutely no interest in exchanging saliva with this asshole, thank you very much. Jace pressed the bottle harder against his chest, almost painfully so despite the thick material of Simon's sweater and jacket in between. Then both of them were startled by the music cutting off for a few seconds, then it started up again and stopped again before it suddenly sped up and slowed down again.One of the guys walked to the edge of the platform where the boombox was sat and when he bent down to tap against the device, he toppled over and fell off the platform, landing headfirst in the snow. Simon stared at the scene with wide eyes while some of the girls squealed when the boombox followed without any visible trigger to move it, it simply fell off the platform and hit the boy in his lower back, causing him to yelp in surprise and pain.





	1. Chapter 1

Simon really didn't know why he always agreed to the things Clary suggested or let her convince him to join things that he knew wouldn't be fun at all. But here he was, at a party _in the middle of the woods_ because teenagers were dumb and chose freezing over the comfy warmth of being inside just so they could get drunk without parents around. He still wasn't even sure why Clary had wanted to join this group because several of them loved to give Simon a shit time at school and it felt kind of crappy for his best friend to want to join them.

He suspected it was because of this blonde douchbag, Jace, because Clary always seemed to glance his way whenever she got the chance. Simon might have gotten over his crush on her but it still stung that she would fall for some asshole instead of him, who had always been there for her and at least he had manners. Seemed like girls really did have a thing for so-called "bad boys" and it sucked.

Simon wrapped his arms around himself and shook his head when Clary offered him a beer. He had no interest in getting drunk or drink at all, even though the alcohol would probably help to stop shaking from the cold. Most of the people stood in a wooden shelter that was meant for feeding wild animals but they had kicked the fruits off the platform and into the snow so they had space to stand. Simon hadn't joined them under the roof, instead stood a little off to the side and blinking away the snowflakes that had started falling and stared at the small campfire the others had started in front of the shelter.

Even if everything was covered in snow, it still felt dangerous and wrong to light a fire in the middle of the woods and Simon silently cursed Clary for getting him into this. He didn't even know why she had wanted him to tag along because she had already joined Jace and his sister Izzy after Simon had dismissed the offered drink.

It didn't take too long for most of the teens to be noticeable buzzed and Simon just wanted to go home and curl up in bed with a book but he also didn't just want to leave Clary with these idiots. He watched warily how one boy suddenly pointed out a deer that stood between two trees and was probably here to feed and was startled to find a bunch of dumb humans partying to horrible music.

Simon's mouth dropped open in silent horror when Jace jumped off the platform of the shelter and picked up one of the apples to _aim_ at the animal. He took an involuntary step towards the blonde idiot but it was too late - Jace had already thrown the apple but luckily his aim was shit in an intoxicated state and the fruit hit one of the trees, bursting at the impact and causing the deer to flee into the snowy safety of the woods.

"That was so unnecessary," Simon huffed and sent a mental excuse after the startled animal but then his attention was on Jace - of course, the guy had heard him and walked up to him with a grin curling at the corners of his mouth. Simon really didn't get why all the girls loved this snob. Jace was always so full of himself and he was one of the bullies that loved to make fun of Simon for simply existing even though Clary always insisted it wasn't meant to hurt anyone but it was simply Jace's kind of humour. Jace could stick his humour where the sun didn't shine if Simon had any say in it. The guy was a jock and one of the asshole kind.

"Lewis, you look like you could use another beer," Jace said and pushed his half-drunken bottle against Simon's chest, urging him to take it and drink but he refused with a shake of his head. He had absolutely no interest in exchanging saliva with this asshole, _thank you very much_. Jace pressed the bottle harder against his chest, almost painfully so despite the thick material of Simon's sweater and jacket in between. Then both of them were startled by the music cutting off for a few seconds, then it started up again and stopped again before it suddenly sped up and slowed down again.

One of the guys walked to the edge of the platform where the boombox was sat and when he bent down to tap against the device, he toppled over and fell off the platform, landing headfirst in the snow. Simon stared at the scene with wide eyes while some of the girls squealed when the boombox followed without any visible trigger to move it, it simply fell off the platform and hit the boy in his lower back, causing him to yelp in surprise and pain.

Some of the teens decided to leave and when suddenly there was the shadow of some creature looming into the space that the fire illuminated, most others scrambled to their feet and decided to take off as well, almost running in the direction of where their cars were parked in a ten minute walking distance by the edge of the forest. Simon felt frozen to the spot and he barely saw a glimpse of red hair, Clary's hand in the one of Jace's sister and her being pulled along by Isabelle, obviously not thinking of looking for her best friend. Simon opened his mouth but closed it again when Jace suddenly stumbled over nothing when he started walking and he basically landed right in front of Simon's feet.

Everything seemed to happen in slow motion even though it was probably rather quick and suddenly Simon found himself alone after Jace had stumbled to his feet again with a curse, running off after the others.

He swallowed, willing his shock-frozen limbs to move and the blood seemed to freeze as well when the sound of laughter echoed across the small clearing of the shelter and his eyes widened when a human looking creature walked up to the fire but it was probably not even 10 inches in height and it looked eerily childlike.

"W-what are you?" Simon stammered because he obviously had no self-preservation. Why react like a normal person and flee the scene when he could stay and talk to a strange creature with obviously supernatural powers that just scared a bunch of teenagers shitless.

"Rude. _Who_ am I, not _what_ ," the creature corrected him with a mischievous grin on its face, holding his hands up, palms facing the fire as if to soak up the warmth of it.

"I'm a _Chaneque,_ a guardian of nature. Guardian of this part of the forest, in particular," it added after a beat of silence and before Simon was able to say sorry for calling it a _what_. He would certainly call this _guardian of the nature_ thing bullshit if he hadn't just witnessed some clearly supernatural shit happening.

"Uh...I-I'm sorry for...all of this," Simon mumbled awkwardly, still kind of scared and frozen to the spot because he had no idea if he was next in being thrown about or hit by the boombox or whatever else this supposed wood-sprite thing was up to.

"Don't excuse the stupidity of others. You seem halfway decent which is why I'm not going to kick your ass but you will have to clean this mess up!" The _Chaneque_ said and glared at him, which was such a human thing to do, that Simon almost snorted but he thought better of it.

"I will, promise. So...I never met a _Chaq-Chena-_ sorry, how do you say it?" He seriously blushed and a new wave of fear rolled through his body because he really didn't want to insult some supernatural being that clearly owned inhumane powers.

"Raphael," the sprite said, taking Simon by surprise and he blinked at the small being, frowning in confusion.

"It's my name, _idiota_. I'm a _Chaneque_ and my name is _Raphael_ ," ~~it~~ he explained with an eye roll, speaking slowly as if he was talking to a child, and pushed some of his messy hair out of his eyes, causing the snow that stuck to his dark curls to flutter down, melting on their way thanks to the heat of the fire.

"Huh," Simon breathed and he blamed the shock still clinging to his bones for the laughter bubbling up in his throat. Who would have thought that a supernatural creature guarding the forest would have such a human and even religious name? It seemed weirdly ridiculous and Simon briefly wondered if he had fallen asleep in the middle of the woods, having a very questionable dream about a tiny wood-sprite with suddenly red cheeks, cursing him in Spanish.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Isn't that what you humans talk like? Categorising every being of a certain kind, even other _mundanos_ when they are different in colour or shape?" Raphael asked and Simon wasn't quite sure if he was supposed to answer this. It was difficult to read the other because he didn't emphasise words or vowels very much so that his speaking pattern didn't give much away about his emotions or thoughts. Simon wondered if it was a deliberate thing or if Raphael might not be capable of expressing himself differently.
> 
> "Uh, well...I guess so? It seems to make people more comfortable if they're able to stereotype others." Simon shrugged and he wondered how Raphael saw them. He clearly didn't have a very high opinion of humans but looking around at the few bottles threw across the snow-covered ground, the fire licking away at the pieces of wood and the food for the animals dumped next to the shelter as if it had no value, he kind of understood that view. If that was how Raphael always encountered humans, they must really seem like a pretty horrible and selfish species.

"So you just have a normal human name?" Simon couldn't stop him from asking even though it was probably a bad idea to get on the bad side of some supernatural being, not matter how small it might look - he had seen what ~~it~~ Raphael was capable of and for some reason he was pretty sure that might have been just a mild demonstration.

"I knew your kind was pretty dull-witted but that's a new low, _mundano_ ," the wood-sprite commented dryly and wrinkled his nose at Simon, clearly not very impressed by him.

" _My kind_ , seriously?"

"Isn't that what you humans talk like? Categorising every being of a certain kind, even other _mundanos_ when they are different in colour or shape?" Raphael asked and Simon wasn't quite sure if he was supposed to answer this. It was difficult to read the other because he didn't emphasise words or vowels very much so that his speaking pattern didn't give much away about his emotions or thoughts. Simon wondered if it was a deliberate thing or if Raphael might not be capable of expressing himself differently.

"Uh, well...I guess so? It seems to make people more comfortable if they're able to stereotype others." Simon shrugged and he wondered how Raphael saw them. He clearly didn't have a very high opinion of humans but looking around at the few bottles threw across the snow-covered ground, the fire licking away at the pieces of wood and the food for the animals dumped next to the shelter as if it had no value, he kind of understood that view. If that was how Raphael always encountered humans, they must really seem like a pretty horrible and selfish species.

" _Eso no justifica vuestros locura_."

"I wouldn't call it _madness_ ," Simon interjected softly and he was really glad that he had brushed up on his Spanish during the past years, wanting to be able to speak his mother tongue to 'get in touch with his heritage' or whatever people would want to call it. He never expected it to come in useful to understand some grumpy supernatural gnome, though.

" _Entendiste?  _ I'm almost impressed," Raphael commented and despite the still not very expressive tone of his voice his lips actually seemed to twitch into something resembling a smirk. Was he seriously made fun of right now?

"Yes, I actually speak Spanish. My parents are from Cuba and Columbia. I'm wondering why _you_ speak Spanish, though?" Simon felt a little more relaxed and at ease now because it didn't seem like Raphael meant him any harm.

"Because I have my roots in _Méjico_. Look up _Chaneque_ in one of your weird technical devices, I'm sure you _mundanos_ have something in there about my kind. A few things might even be correct information. How does this silly saying of yours go _even a blind hen sometimes finds a grain of corn_."

Simon blinked and couldn't help but snort softly at the bizarre situation of some tiny supernatural creature living in the woods actually quoting some human saying. He really wondered where Raphael picked that one up but who knew, the other was supernatural so maybe he was a few decades old and didn't spend all of them in the woods. Did guardians of nature get days off and go on holidays? Simon wondered if he could ask this question without it being more proof for Raphael that his kind was dumb...

"Which...why do you people always use animals for negative sayings? Most of them a far more sophisticated than you lot," Raphael added and interrupted Simon's thoughts. He raised an eyebrow and stepped a little close, mostly to soak up some of the warmth from the fire because it was damn cold and he felt like his fingers and toes were already turning into icicles.

"Many sayings are pretty old already and I think back when they started, people still thought of most animals as dumb creatures? And by now that's just how it's said and nobody really thinks about the _why_ anymore."

"As usual, you _mundanos_ don't think. You always act so high and mighty but most are so narrow-minded, it's kind of fascinating," the wood-sprite replied and Simon tried his best to not take it too personally but it sounded even more insulting thanks to Raphael's lack of intonation.

"Maybe but we're not all dumb and horrible, you know?" He sighed and reached up to readjust the beanie that had slipped down his forehead and almost caused a strand of hair to poke in his eye. The wood-sprite only snorted at that and shook his head, clearly disagreeing with Simon on this one.

"If you think we are, maybe you could teach us to be better - how else are we supposed to change? Though I think people would freak out if they saw someone like you," he suggested and added the last bit carefully, biting his lips afterwards because this might not have been his brightest idea. _Go ahead and insult the grumpy forest gnome, brilliant!_

"I _could_ just change my appearance but I have absolutely no interest in teaching your kind whatsoever. I'm pretty sure it wouldn't work anyway because you are horribly stubborn and won't just listen to whatever I would have to say anyway. It would be a waste of time and I prefer staying here, doing my job," Raphael replied grumpily and almost glared at Simon for the mere idea of communicating with humans. He grinned weakly and shrugged a little but then frowned at what the other had just said.

"Wait...you can change your appearance, how so?"

"You may have noticed that I have certain powers? Of course, I can change my appearance and change into your size but I have no need to. Also, my power is greater the smaller I am because each body needs a certain amount of energy to keep it up," Raphael explained with a sigh, clearly annoyed that he had to explain this to Simon, as if it was the most logical thing in the world that everyone was supposed to know already. Maybe to him, it was just that.

"Now I wonder what you would look like when you were my size...Would you show me?"

"I would look no different from now, just bigger, _idiota_. And, no, I won't show you!" Raphael frowned at him, crossing his arms in front of his chest in a weirdly adorable defiant looking manner. He just looked like a very tiny child with his young appearance and Simon had to admit the other was rather pretty - even though it was a little difficult to see due to his small size.

"Ah, so you can't do it, after all. No worries, I get that it's probably difficult to change," Simon commented and he didn't actually expect this to work but it was worth a try, right? Raphael glanced at him from the corners of his eyes, clearly displeased by his words.

"It's not difficult - it's actually pretty easy," the wood-sprite replied and at least annoyance was an emotion that did colour his words with a little more intonation. Simon pressed his lips together in an attempt to keep down his grin because he was clearly getting to the other. Instead of answering, he simply hummed in a patronising "sure, whatever you think" kind of way and almost ended up laughing when Raphael squinted at him, clearly not amused.

"You really think you can trick me into it with such a cheap method?" He asked with a thoroughly unimpressed expression and actually scrunched up his nose, which made him look almost kind of cute. Simon pushed the weird thought back to where it came from and crossed his arms in front of his chest, staring down at the much smaller figure of the wood-sprite.

"If it's oh-so-simple, why not show me? I really want to see," Simon finally gave in, almost pleading, and his curiosity always ended up winning in the end. Raphael scrubbed a hand over his face but then the temperature around them seemed to drop a little more and the fire seemed to change colour as if the wood-sprite drew the heat right out of it so it flickered momentarily blue. Some snow swirled up and Simon wrapped his arms more around himself, had to blink against the snow that was blown in his face and when it finally stopped, Raphael was actually the size of a normal human.

"You're still kinda short," Simon blurted out and immediately slapped his hand in front of his mouth as if that could draw the words back in. Raphael's eyebrows rose and he stepped closer, clearly not bothered by his barely clothed state in this weather, his skin had an olive glow to it and seemed to radiate heat without melting the surrounding snow.

"If you keep this up I might just stuff you headfirst into the snow!"

"That's a pretty tame punishment considering you're a pretty powerful supernatural being," Simon commented and it was somewhat delightful how the still slightly shorter wood-sprite glowered at him in return before pointing in the direction of a few bottles littered around the shelter.

"Pick that stuff up and get going. I don't need the body of a frozen mortal lying around here, scaring off the animals," Raphael ordered and even though Simon dared to make fun of him, he still felt a small chill run down his spine at the sound of the other's voice because he was clearly very serious about this.

"Maybe...you could help me? If you're so worried that I'm going to freeze to death," he asked tentatively and even though he was still kind of scared of Raphael, he was also quite fascinated by him and had to admit that from close up the other was absolutely gorgeous. Maybe comparing him to a fairy made more sense than the comparison to a gnome.

"I won't help you with your trash and I'm certainly not worried."

"It's not _my_ trash."

"It's yours by association. Now, off you go!" Raphael actually made a shooing motion and Simon definitely blamed the cold that must have crept into his delirious brain when he leant closer and brushed his lips over the surprisingly warm skin of the other's cheek. His lips tingled from the warmth and something that might have been caused by Raphael's magic. The wood-sprite stared at him with wide eyes and then there was suddenly another swirl of icy wind and ruffled snow, accompanied by a "Pick the trash up and go home, _idiota_ " and when it was over, there was only a small patch of melted snow left where the other had been standing before.

It seemed almost like the other had lost a little bit of control over his magic and therefore the heat radiating off his body, cocooning him in warmth against the harsh winter, and Simon couldn't help but grin like a lunatic the whole time he picked up other people's trash and wandered back out of the forest. He would definitely come back and try to find Raphael again, that much was sure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Eso no justifica vuestros locura_ \- That doesn't justify your madness  
>  _Entendiste?_ \- You understood?

**Author's Note:**

> _Chaneques are tiny, forest-dwelling fairies that guard nature and frighten away intruders. In the Nahuatl language their name means the “ones that inhabit dangerous places.” Chaneques are responsible for punishing people who show insufficient respect for the wildlife of the forest. The sprites are capable of causing such terror that people lose their tonalli (the spirit associated with the day of their birth, roughly equivalent to a soul). Following the theft of their tonalli, victims are required to undergo a magical ritual to avoid certain death._
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> _While potentially very dangerous, the creatures have a more positive aspect, representing the attitudes of indigenous communities, who use stories of the little creatures to safeguard natural resources and protect the environment._
> 
> [ **Source** ](https://themexicanlabyrinth.com/2015/05/16/a-menagerie-of-mythical-creatures/)


End file.
